5 min readNew DelhiMar 10, 2026 03:53 AM IST
First published on: Mar 9, 2026 at 07:27 PM IST
A day before the Lok Sabha is likely to take up an Opposition-sponsored resolution seeking Speaker Om Birla’s removal, the united Opposition on Monday moved to open yet another political front against the government in Parliament by deciding to submit a notice on impeaching Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.
The Opposition has been contemplating the move for the past few months, it is learnt. Sources said the Opposition finally decided to go ahead on Monday and all the parties were said to be on board. The Trinamool Congress (TMC), whose leader Mamata Banerjee is sitting on a dharna in Kolkata in protest against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, is learnt to have taken the initiative. The draft of the motion, prepared by a lawyer MP of the Congress and two TMC MPs, is ready and the parties will now begin collecting signatures.
The move is largely symbolic, given the ruling NDA alliance’s clear numerical advantage in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, but it has huge political significance as it comes days before the EC is expected to announce the Assembly election schedule for the states of West Bengal, Assam, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and the Union Territory of Puducherry. While the notice will seek Kumar’s removal, the Opposition’s real target is the NDA government.
Sources said the TMC had told the Congress and other Opposition parties a few days ago that it would support the resolution against Birla if they agreed to back the move seeking Kumar’s impeachment. The TMC at first was not a signatory to the resolution against Birla as it wanted to give the Speaker a “few days to reflect”. On Saturday, the Mamata Banerjee-led party announced it would support the rest of the Opposition’s move to remove Birla. The TMC then contacted all the political parties on the notice against Kumar. It wanted to go ahead on Monday but deferred to the Congress’s desire to raise the issue of West Asia conflict in both Houses during the day.
Sources said one of the grounds on which the Opposition would seek Kumar’s removal was his “completely biased conduct”. The notice will also mention the Supreme Court’s observations and rulings that were not flattering to the EC.
A senior TMC MP who has been involved in the process of drafting the impeachment motion notice said it was a “100% team effort”. “The drafting and planning has truly been a team effort by all like-minded parties. The execution in both Houses will also be full teamwork. The CEC has totally degraded the great chair he sits on,” said the leader.
How is a CEC removed?
The process for seeking the CEC’s removal is similar to that of impeaching a Supreme Court judge. Article 324 (5) of the Constitution states that “the Chief Election Commissioner shall not be removed from his office except in like manner and on the like grounds as a Judge of the Supreme Court and the conditions of service of the Chief Election Commissioner shall not be varied to his disadvantage after his appointment”.
The grounds for the removal of the CEC and other ECs are also set down in Section 11 (2) of the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023, which regulates the appointment, conditions of service and term of office of the CEC and the ECs. It states, “The Chief Election Commissioner shall not be removed from his office except in like manner and on the like grounds as a Judge of the Supreme Court.”
The procedure for removal of a Judge is laid down in the Judges Inquiry Act, 1968. It stipulates that a complaint against a judge is taken up if it is signed by at least 100 members if moved in the Lok Sabha and 50 members in the Rajya Sabha. Once the motion is submitted, the presiding officer of the House takes a call on whether to accept or reject it.
If the motion is admitted, the Speaker or the Chairman of the House constitutes a three-member investigative committee. It shall consist of a Supreme Court judge, the Chief Justice of a High Court, and a distinguished jurist.
The committee then frames charges based on which the investigation is conducted. After concluding its investigation, the committee submits its report to the Speaker or Chairman, who then has to lay the report before the relevant House. If the report records a finding of misbehaviour or incapacity, the motion for removal is taken up for consideration and debated.
For the motion to go through, at least two-thirds of those “present and voting” in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha must vote to remove the judge, and the number of votes in favour must be more than 50% of the “total membership” of each House. Once both Houses adopt the motion by a special majority, it is sent to the President of India.
